How to Fill Out the Minnesota Permit to Carry Renewal Application

To renew a Minnesota permit to carry, you complete a fresh approved firearms training course within the year before you apply, fill out the renewal application, bring it in person to the sheriff of your county of residence with your training certificate, photo ID, and a fee of up to $75, and wait up to 30 days for the decision. You can file as early as 90 days before your permit expires. Miss the expiration date and you have a 30-day grace period with a $10 late fee; miss that, and you have to start over as a new applicant.¹

When to File Your Renewal

The renewal window opens 90 days before the expiration date printed on your permit card. Filing inside that window is the clean path. If the sheriff approves before your current permit runs out, the new five-year permit takes effect the day the old one expires, so there is no gap in coverage.¹

Miss the expiration and you enter a 30-day grace period. You can still use the renewal application and the lower renewal fee during this window, but you pay an additional $10 late charge. Important detail: your old permit is already invalid during the grace period, so you are not legally carrying until the new permit issues.¹

More than 30 days past expiration and the renewal option closes. You become a new applicant: new application form, new $100-cap fee, same process as someone applying for the first time.

Training You Have to Redo

Minnesota requires an approved firearms training course within one year before you apply, and that rule applies to renewals the same as to original applications. The permit itself lasts five years, but the training certificate you submit must be dated within 12 months of the day you file. A certificate from four years ago does not qualify, even if your permit is still valid when you walk in.¹

The course has to be taught by a certified instructor working under an organization approved by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.² The curriculum covers three areas:

Pistol fundamentals: grip, stance, sight alignment, and safe handling.
Live-fire qualification: DPS requires at least 25 rounds fired at multiple distances on a supervised range.
Legal instruction: the laws governing possession, carrying, use of force in self-defense, and when deadly force is and isn’t justified.

Active or recent peace officers in Minnesota can satisfy the training requirement through their law enforcement employment within the past year rather than taking a civilian course.¹ Once you pass, the instructor issues a dated training certificate. Hold onto it; the sheriff’s office needs the original.

Plan the course timing with your filing date in mind. If you take training 11 months before you plan to renew, you have one month to get to the sheriff before the certificate ages out.

Filling Out the Renewal Application

The permit to carry has its own application form, separate from the Minnesota Uniform Firearm Application used for purchase and transfer permits. Pick it up at your county sheriff’s office or download it from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension website.³

The form asks for standard personal information: full legal name, date of birth, home address, and physical descriptors like height, weight, and eye color. You will also need your Minnesota driver’s license or state ID number and your residential address history for the past five years. The address history matters because it tells the sheriff which local jurisdictions to check for records.

Fill every field. Incomplete forms get kicked back, which means another trip. Make sure the name and address on the application match your photo ID exactly; small discrepancies slow things down. If your name or address changed since your last permit, use the current information and bring documentation that supports it.

What to Bring to the Sheriff’s Office

Renewals, like original applications, must be submitted in person. Minnesota residents file with the sheriff of the county where they live, not whichever office is most convenient.¹ Bring:

The completed renewal application, signed, with every field filled in.
Your training certificate, dated within the past year, showing the instructor’s name and certification.
A government-issued photo ID. Your Minnesota driver’s license or state ID works; the clerk verifies your identity in person.
The renewal fee, plus the $10 late fee if you are in the grace period. Call ahead for the exact amount and accepted payment methods. Many sheriff’s offices require a money order or cashier’s check rather than cash or personal checks.

Some offices schedule appointments for permit applications. A quick phone call before you go can save a wasted trip during busy periods. The clerk reviews your packet for completeness, confirms your ID matches the application, and checks that your training certificate is current.

Renewal Fees

Minnesota caps the renewal fee at $75, or the sheriff’s actual cost to process it, whichever is less. Of that amount, $5 goes to the state’s general fund. If you file during the 30-day grace period after expiration, add a $10 late fee on top.¹

If you fall outside the grace period, you are no longer renewing. You are applying fresh, and the new-application fee cap of $100 applies instead.

The 30-Day Decision Clock

Once the sheriff’s office accepts your renewal application, a strict 30-day deadline begins. Within that window, the sheriff must either issue the permit or provide a written denial. The office checks your criminal history through the Minnesota Crime Information System and, where necessary, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The sheriff also reviews mental health commitment records through the Commissioner of Human Services and examines local records for evidence that you pose a danger.¹

If the sheriff fails to notify you within those 30 days, the permit is legally deemed issued and the sheriff must mail it to you promptly. The deadline has teeth.

When approved, the new permit card is mailed to the address on your application and is valid for five years from the date of issue.¹

If Your Renewal Is Denied

A denial must be in writing and state the specific legal grounds, either that you failed to meet the eligibility criteria or that the sheriff found a substantial likelihood you pose a danger. The letter must include instructions on how to appeal. You can challenge the denial in district court, and if the court finds the sheriff acted improperly, you may be entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees and costs. The eligibility criteria the sheriff is checking against are the same ones that applied when you first qualified: citizenship or permanent residency, no disqualifying criminal history, no active protection orders, no disqualifying mental health commitments, and not being listed in the state’s criminal gang investigative data system.¹

Federal prohibitions under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) also apply, including convictions for crimes punishable by more than one year in prison, unlawful use of controlled substances, certain restraining orders, and misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence.⁴ One narrow exception worth knowing: the sheriff cannot deny your application solely because you use medical cannabis or adult-use cannabis products.¹

Keeping Your Permit Current After Renewal

If you change your legal name or permanent address during the five-year permit term, you have 30 days to notify the issuing sheriff. Failing to do so is a petty misdemeanor with a maximum $25 fine for a first offense. After notifying the sheriff, you can get a replacement permit card for $10. If you lost or destroyed your card rather than changing your name or address, the replacement request must include a notarized statement explaining the loss.¹

Mark your next expiration date on a calendar now, five years out from the issue date on your new card, with a reminder 90 days earlier for training. Renewals go smoothly when the training certificate is fresh and the application lands at the sheriff’s office before the old permit runs out.

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 624.714 – Carrying of Weapons Without Permit; Penalties
2
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Firearms Training Instructor Certification – Organizations / Instructors
3
Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Permit to Carry
4
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons